THREE THINGS WE KNOW
No. 1: Brother Rice volleyball coach Paul Ickes is stepping down at the end of this season after 22 years and more than 500 wins. So where better to start his farewell tour than Hawaii? After spending the last two spring breaks in Orlando, the Crusaders competed in the Hawaii Boys Invitational in Honolulu this year, defeating Kamehameha in the finals 26-24, 28-30, 15-10. “It was a tremendous experience,” Ickes said. “The Hawaiian people are very hospitable. They even have laundry service at the tournament. You finish playing, give them your uniforms and they are washed and folded and ready for you the next day.”
No. 2: Lincoln-Way East setter Austin Royer was named the Most Valuable Player at last weekend’s Tiger Classic at WW South. Joining him on the all-tournament team were Sandburg’s Ian Zalewski, Naperville Central’s Jack Burton, Barrington’s Colin Castagna, New Trier’s Dante Chakravorti, Naperville North’s Jake Hafen, Lincoln-Way Central’s Connor Hipelius, Lake Park’s Quin Krisik, Brother Rice’s Kevin Myren, Downers South’s Jordan Pawlicki, Minooka’s Mitch Perinar, Lincoln-Way East’s Josh Phalen and Ryan Vorderer, and WW South’s Jared Wilcox.
No. 3: Lincoln-Way East and Lincoln-Way North, the top two teams in the Sun-Times rankings, could meet for the second time in three weeks when they participate in the Blue Devil Invite Friday and Saturday in Gurnee. The Griffins won the first meeting 24-26, 25-16, 25-21 in the finals of the Marist invite. Last year, the teams met three times with East winning the first two matches before North took the final meeting 29-27, 25-22 in the sectional finals.
